JP3340806B2 - Initialization method of film for sealing of automatic sealing machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for initializing a sealing film in an automatic sealing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sealing film formed by joining a rewinding end portion of a biaxial roll film is installed so as to block a transfer path of a tray on which documents are loaded, and the film is fed by advancing the tray. Along with holding the leading end of the film and the leading end of the document between the transport rollers, the tray is retracted, and while transporting the film and the document by the transport rollers, the document is covered with the film. The edge of the film extending outward from both sides in the width direction of the document is welded, and the film is welded and cut immediately after the trailing edge of the document to create a sealed article enclosing the document in a film bag. An automatic sealing machine has been proposed in which the sealed matter is discharged outside the machine.

[0003]

In the automatic sealing machine according to the above proposal, the biaxial roll film constituting the sealing film is housed outside the machine in the two roll film housing portions of the film cartridge. After that, the unwinding tip of each roll film is drawn, and after being joined with an adhesive tape or an adhesive, it is shrunk to the roll film of the accommodating portion of each roll film so that slack does not remain,
The film cartridge (hereinafter referred to as a cartridge) was mounted in the machine.

Accordingly, when joining with an adhesive tape or an adhesive, it is necessary to perform a manual joining operation so that the direction and the edge of the rewinding end of both roll films coincide with each other. It takes time and effort to initialize when loading a new film or when recovering from a jam. Such manual initialization work is not only disliked by the operator, but also reduces the processing efficiency of the automatic sealing machine. Therefore, in an automatic sealing machine using a biaxial roll film, the initialization of the sealing film is performed. There is a demand for automation.

Thus, according to the present invention, a document is fed toward a sealing film in which the rewinding ends of a biaxial roll film are joined, and the document is covered with the film from both sides, and both sides of the film are covered. In an automatic sealing machine that welds, welds, cuts and seals the film before and after the document, the operator only needs to perform a minimum of simple operations when initializing when loading a new film or recovering after jam processing. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for initializing a sealing film in which joining between rewinding ends of a film is automatically performed.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for storing a biaxial roll film provided with a cutting position detection mark in each roll film storage portion of a cartridge. And said 2
The cartridge is mounted on an automatic sealing machine in a state where the rewinding ends of the roll film of the shaft are extended in the direction of the other roll film accommodating portion and are superimposed on the downstream surface of the fixed roller provided in the film cartridge. It is detachably attached to, and based on the input of the initialization command, by moving the tray of the alignment unit to the downstream side in an empty state, the movable roller provided in the mounter overcomes the urging force and moves in the downstream direction. Move to the 2
The roll film of the shaft is fed out between the transport rollers in the nip open state, the nip of the transport roller is closed, the transport roller is rotated, and the cut-out position detection mark provided on the film is fed. The sheet is transported until it is detected by a film sensor provided between the transport roller and the welding and cutting means. Based on the detection of the cutting position detection mark, the rotation of the transport roller is stopped and
The roll film of the shaft is welded and cut behind the overlapped portion, the nip of the transport roller is opened, and the joining portion of the film by the welding and cutting means is moved to the vicinity of the opening of the cartridge by the return force of the movable roller. It is characterized by being retracted to the point.

[0007]

According to the method of the present invention, if a roll film is set on a cartridge in a predetermined overlapping state and the cartridge is loaded into a film supply section, an initialization command is issued after a new film is loaded or after a jam is cleared. Upon input, the control unit moves the tray of the matching unit to the downstream side, and feeds out the film of the film supply unit from the tray. Next, the transported roller of the sealing section transports the fed film until a cutting position detection mark provided on the film is detected. Subsequently, the film is welded and cut by welding and cutting means at a position corresponding to the cutting position detection mark. The film separated by the cutting and located downstream of the welding and cutting means is discharged outside the machine by discharge rollers. In addition, in the film on the upstream side of the welding cutting means,
A tip with a suitable joint is created. Then, the joint at the leading end is returned to a position corresponding to the center of the opening of the cartridge by a tension mechanism including a fixed roller and a movable roller provided in the film supply unit.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a heat roller is used as the welding means for welding the left and right end portions of the film, and a heat cutter is used as the welding cutting means for welding and cutting the film at predetermined lengths. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Not something. For example, high-frequency irradiation means can be used as the welding means at the left and right ends, and a combination of high-frequency irradiation means and room temperature cutting means can be used as the welding and cutting means.

FIG. 1 shows an automatic document covering a document using a biaxial roll film, welding films extending from the left and right ends of the document, and welding and cutting the film before and after the document to seal it. FIG. 2 is a schematic view mainly showing a drive system in a schematic configuration of the sealing machine, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a specific configuration of the automatic sealing machine.

A in FIG. 2 is an upstream device for discharging a document. The upstream apparatus A is specified from an image recording apparatus that records an image on a sheet at that time and discharges the sheets one by one, such as a facsimile receiver, a copying machine, a printer, or the like, or is specified from among printed stacked documents. This is a document feeding device that continuously discharges up to a given number of sheets. The automatic sealing machine B according to the present invention is used in combination with a document discharge port of the upstream apparatus A. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic sealing machine B generally comprises an intake section B1, an upper discharge section B2, an alignment section B3, a film supply section B4, a sealing section B5, and a lower discharge section B6. These are provided in the housing 1 as shown in FIG.

The take-in section B1 is a take-up roller 2 for taking the document P discharged from the document discharge port of the upstream apparatus A into the sealing machine B.
And a motor ICM for rotating the intake roller 2 in a predetermined direction.
And a gate 3 for switching the traveling direction of the document taken in by the take-in roller 2 to the direction of the upper discharge section B2 or the aligning section B3.
And a drive unit for rotating the gate 3 upward and downward, for example, a solenoid FLSOL. The take-in section B1 is provided with a sensor S1 for detecting the presence or absence of a document to be taken.

When the non-processing mode is designated by the mode changeover switch of the operation unit (not shown) provided in the sealing machine,
The solenoid FLSOL is excited to maintain the state in which the gate is turned to the lower side. When the gate 3 is on the lower side, the document P taken by the take-in roller 2 is stacked on the upper discharge tray 5 via the upper discharge roller 4 constituting the upper discharge section B2.

On the other hand, when the processing mode is designated, the solenoid FLSOL is in a non-excited state, and the gate 3 is held on the upper side. Therefore, the captured document flies toward the alignment section B3 on the downstream side. The matching unit B3 is
It has a tray 6, an alignment roller 7, a gate 8, a clamper 9, a tray moving means 10, an electric stapler 11, and a stapler moving means 12.

The tray 6 has a loading surface on which a document to be loaded is loaded, and a side wall 6a which stands on one side of the loading surface and serves as a reference surface in the width direction of the document. The alignment roller 7 is moved by the solenoid ALSOL between a position close to the loading surface of the tray 6 and a position separated therefrom.
It is rotated in a certain direction by the motor ALM. The aligning roller 7 close to the loading surface is provided so that the document A flying from the take-in roller 2 to the upper surface of the tray 6 is obliquely fed toward the side wall of the tray by the rotation of the motor ALM.

The gate 8 is mounted on a frame (not shown) below the front end of the tray 6 so as to be able to move up and down, and is always urged in a rising direction by urging means (not shown) such as a spring. is there. When the tray 6 is at the home position (retracted position), the gate 8 rises above the upper surface of the tray and serves as an alignment reference surface for all edges of the document. In this way, the document that has landed on the upper surface of the tray is sent obliquely on the upper surface of the tray by the alignment roller 7, and the side of the document is stopped at the side wall 6a of the tray, and the front end is stopped at the gate 8, so that all the documents are transferred. Be aligned.

On the side wall 6a side of the tray 6, a clamper (paper pressing means) for holding the document on the tray 6 back and forth each time one document is aligned on the tray.
9 are provided. The clamper includes a pressing piece 9a that comes into contact with and separates from the upper surface of the tray, and a solenoid PCSOL that makes the pressing piece move toward and away from the pressing piece.

The tray moving means 10 reciprocates the tray 6 in the front-rear direction (left and right directions in FIGS. 1 and 2), and includes a reversible motor TRM and front and rear pulleys 10a, 1a.
The belt 10c wound around the belt 0b and the tray 6
0c, a guide shaft 10e for guiding the tray in the front-rear direction at a predetermined angle, and an engagement piece 10f for engaging the tray 6 with the guide shaft.
Is controlled and driven by a control unit described later to reciprocate the tray 6 between a retracted position shown by a solid line in FIG. 2 and a forward position in which the front end of the tray 6 exists between the transport rollers 18 described later. It has become.

The electric stapler 11 is connected to the side wall 6 of the tray 6.
It is provided on the side opposite to a. This is for binding the aligned document at a predetermined position. As described above, when the document P stacked on the tray 6 and aligned by the alignment roller 7 and the gate 8 and pressed by the clamper 9 is designated in the operation unit in advance in the binding mode, the alignment ends. The binding is performed based on a binding instruction signal output later. Since the structure of the electric stapler itself is known, detailed illustration is omitted.

The stapler 11 also has a motor ST
M, the front and rear pulleys 12a and 12b, a belt 12c, and a connecting piece 12d are used to move back and forth by another moving means 12. The stapler 11 has a home position at the front of the tray 6 at the retracted position (in FIG. 1, it is moved rearward for convenience), and one of the documents aligned on the tray. When the front side is bound, the binding operation is performed at the home position. When the document is bound at the center and / or the rear side of one side, the motor S is used.
After moving backward to a predetermined position by TM, the binding operation is performed. In this case, the tray moving means 10 also advances the tray at the same time and moves relative to the stapler, thereby achieving alignment on the tray, minimizing the time required for binding and miniaturizing the apparatus. .

A film supply section B4 is provided downstream of the alignment section B2. The film supply section B4 has a cartridge 14 in which a sealing film 13 is loaded. This sealing film 13 has a form in which the rewinding tips of the biaxial roll films 13a and 13b are joined as shown in FIG. When using the method of the invention, the biaxial roll film 13 is loaded before the cartridge 14 is loaded.
a and 13b are cores 15a and 15b as shown in FIG.
Roll films 13a, 13b wound respectively
The shafts 15c, 15d, 15c ', and 15d' are pushed into the core of the roll film, and the rewinding tips of the roll films are not joined.

The cartridge 14, as shown in FIG.
An opening 14a is provided at the center, and a semi-cylindrical roll film accommodating portion (hereinafter, referred to as an opening) is opened on both upper and lower sides of the opening in the downstream direction.
Each of the roll films 13a and 13b has a rewinding end portion that is rewound by a length substantially equal to the distance from one film storage portion to the other film storage portion. In the extended state, the cartridges 14 are accommodated in the respective film accommodating portions 14b and 14c from the opening surface side, and bearings 14d and 14e formed at both ends of the film accommodating portions 14b and 14c.
The film support shafts 15c and 15d are rotatably supported and set.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cartridge 14 is provided with a plurality of fixed rollers 17a at appropriate intervals between the film accommodating portions 14b and 14c and the opening 14a. The cartridge 14
The roll films 13a, 13b accommodated in the cartridge are overlapped with each other so that the extended portions cover the upper surfaces of the fixed rollers 17a on both sides of the cartridge, whereby the setting of the film into the cartridge is completed. It does not matter which of the films 13a and 13b is in the vertical relationship.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views for explaining a state in which the roll film is mounted on the cartridge 14 and then on the automatic sealing machine. As shown in the figure, the cartridge 14 has an engagement protrusion 14f formed at the lower end thereof,
The cartridge 14 is engaged with a locking hole 16a formed at the lower end of the mounter 16 attached to the sealing machine.
The engagement protrusion 14g formed on the upper end of the mounter 16 is engaged with the engagement protrusion 16b formed on the upper end of the mounter 16 to be detachably mounted. FIG. 8 shows a state where the cartridge 14 is mounted on the mounter 16.

The mounter 16 has fixed rollers 17b near both sides of a central opening 16c corresponding to the opening 14a of the cartridge. On both sides of the fixed roller 17b, an urging means such as a spring (not shown) is used to move upstream in the upstream direction. The plurality of biased movable rollers 17c are
Are arranged movably in a direction parallel to the opening direction of the opening 14a between the fixed rollers 17a. These fixed rollers 17a and 17b and the movable roller 17c constitute a tension mechanism 17 for applying a buffering action and a tensioning action to the film in the cartridge.

Thus, the roll films 13a, 13
When the cartridge 14 containing the cartridge b in a state where the extension portions thereof are overlapped is mounted on the mounter 16, as shown in FIG. 9A, the roll films 13a and 13b are fixed to the respective fixed rollers 17a, 17b and 17d and movable. Is held in a meandering state by the rollers 17c, and
When the mounter 16 is held at the sealing position as shown in FIG. 8 and described later, the document transfer path of the tray 6 is orthogonally blocked.

The fixed roller 17d provided on the side of the mounter 16 opposite to the opening 16c of the movable roller 17c corresponds to the fixed roller 17a closest to the roll films 13a, 13b of the cartridge. As a result, FIG.
When the cartridge 14 loaded with a film is mounted on the mounter, the roll films 13a and 13b are sandwiched between the fixed rollers 17a and 17d as shown in FIG. When a force in the direction is received, the film storage portions 14b and 14c
However, as shown in FIG. 9A, when the force from the tray or the conveying roller is released, the film is not easily pulled out by the back tension applied to the film 13 from the tension mechanism 17. .
In order to prevent the film from being pulled out by the back tension, instead of using the fixed rollers 17a, 17d, the support shafts 15c ', 15d' and the bearings 14d,
The same object can be achieved by appropriately setting the frictional force according to 14e.

As clearly shown in FIG. 6, the mounter 16 is supported by a cartridge holding member 23 fixed to a drawer 31, which will be described later, so as to be able to move up and down. The cartridge holding member 23 moves the cartridge 14 up and down between a position where the film loaded therein blocks the document transfer path, that is, a sealing position, and a position where the cartridge is retracted downward from the document transfer path, that is, a non-sealing position. It has a movable length, extends from the upper part to the lower part in the sealing machine, and has a frame member 25 having a guide groove 24 which is opened opposite to both sides, and the mounter 16 is provided on both side surfaces. A guide roller 26 is fitted in the guide groove 24 and rolls. Then, a wire 28 is wound around a rotation shaft of a motor FCM provided on the drawer 31 and a pulley 27 provided on a lower portion and an upper portion of the cartridge holding member 23, and the mounter 16 is connected to the wire via a connecting piece 29. Are linked.

When the sealing mode is designated by the mode changeover switch of the operation unit, the center of the opening 14a of the cartridge is set in the tray 14 as shown by the solid line in FIG. When the non-seal mode is designated, the motor FCM is rotated in the reverse direction by the chain line shown in FIG. 2 when the non-seal mode is designated. As shown, the cartridge 14 is lowered to an unsealed position where it retracts below the document transport path.

A sealing section B5 is provided downstream of the film supply section B4. The sealing section includes a transport roller 18 for nipping and transporting the film 13 covering the document from above and below, and welding and cutting (heat cutting) the film every time the sensor S2 detects a cutting position detection mark of the film 13.
And a heat roller 20 for welding (heat sealing) both sides of the film 13 covering the document from both sides.

A discharge section B6 provided downstream of the sealing section
A discharge roller 21 for discharging a sealed object formed by heat cutting by the heat cutter 19 and heat sealing by the heat roller 20 to the outside of the housing 1; and a lower discharge tray 22 for depositing the discharged sealed object. It consists of

Then, the transport roller 18, the heat roller 2
0 and a discharge roller 21 are connected to a common transport motor MM for rotating them in a predetermined direction, and a transport roller 18 composed of a drive roller and a driven roller is used to open and close these with respect to a transport surface. A nip driving means, for example, a motor TAM, a well-known cam and a calorie follower are connected, and a heat cutter 19 has a cutting blade 19 constituting the same.
a and a drive unit for causing the pedestal 19b to approach and press each other,
For example, a motor HCM is connected to a known cam and a follower, and further, a drive unit for moving the heat roller 20 toward and away from the transport surface, for example, a motor HRM and a known cam and a cam follower are connected. A heater HC which generates heat at a temperature at which the film 13 can be melted is built in the cutting blade 19a of the heat cutter.
A heater HR that generates heat to a temperature at which a film can be welded is also built in the heating roller 20a.

The automatic sealing machine B has at least sensors S2 and S3 in addition to the sensor S1 of the take-in section B1. The sensor S2 serves to detect the leading end of the film and to detect a later-described cutting position detection mark 6 provided on the film and an end mark described later provided on the film. It is possible to detect that the film 13 has begun to be fed out from the film supply section B4 by the transport roller 18, that the welding cut position has arrived, or that the film 13 has run out. Further, the sensor S3 is for detecting that the conveyed film and document have passed through the sealing portion B5, and is provided in the vicinity of the discharge roller 21.

In the automatic sealing machine according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, the upstream device A and each of the sensors S1 to S3 are connected to the interface circuit 100, and the motors ICM, ALM, STM serving as driving means are respectively provided. , TRM, FC
M, MM, TAM, DRM, HCM, HRM, solenoid FLSOL, ALSOL, PCSOL, heater HC,
The HR is connected to the interface circuit 100 via a drive circuit (not shown) for driving each of them, and the interface circuit includes a central processing control unit CPU,
Microcomputer 2 consisting of storage unit ROM and RAM
Connected to 00.

The CPU includes, as function realizing means, a capture control means 2 for designating a capture direction of the gate 3 of the capture section B1.
01, an alignment control means 202 for controlling the rotation and elevation timing and rotation of the alignment roller 7, a stapler control means 203 for controlling the operation of the electric stapler 11 and the stapler moving means 12, a tray control means 204 for controlling the tray moving means 10, The transport roller 18, the heat roller 2
Transport control means 205 for controlling a transport motor MM common to the zero and discharge rollers 21, film supply control means 206 for controlling film supply through nip opening / closing control of the transport rollers by the motor TAM, and cartridge moving means FCM for the film supply section. Evacuation control means 207, heat cutter control means 208 for controlling the opening and closing drive HCM of the heat cutter 19, and heat roller control means 20 for controlling the opening and closing drive HRM of the heat roller 20
9. Jam detection means 210 and film remaining detection means 2
11 is provided.

The jam detecting means 210 determines that a jam has occurred when the sensor S3 does not input the end-of-sealed-item detection signal from the sensor S3 within a predetermined time from the input of the film leading-edge detection signal from the sensor S2, and outputs a jam detection signal.

As shown in FIG. 11, the film sensor S2
Uses a transmission type photoelectric sensor composed of a light emitting element PHe and a light receiving element PHr arranged on opposite sides of a film transport surface, and one roll film 13a used as a front film of the sealing film 13. Are provided with a transparent addressing window 131 for each predetermined length and a cutting position detecting mark (hereinafter simply referred to as a registration mark) 132 constituted by a strip-shaped transparent portion extending in the entire width direction of the film. Except for the portion 131 and the register mark 132, the recorded content of the document covered with this film over the entire length is printed with a predetermined density (light transmittance) d1 such that it cannot be seen from the outside, and is wound around the core 15a. One side when the remaining length of the roll film 13a becomes equal to the length of several sealed objects due to wear, in other words, the predetermined length on the beginning side Are printed in dark density d2 than the end mark 133 is earlier concentration d1. The sensor S2 may be separately installed for detecting a registration mark and detecting an end mark. The roll film 13b used as the back side film has a density d1 over its entire surface.
What is printed in is used.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, the presence or absence of a film, the presence or absence of a registration mark, and the presence or absence of a film remaining between the conveyance roller 18 and the heat cutter 19 are determined as shown in FIG.
The output level L1 which is clearly different from the light receiving element of the sensor S2
~ L4 are obtained. L1 has no film, L2 has film 13a and film 13b, and film 13
When the registration mark of a is detected, L3 has the front and back films, and when the registration mark of the film 13a is not detected,
And L4 are the respective output levels when the film runs low.

When the output level of the sensor S2 is L2, the transport control means 205 of the CPU stops the rotation of the transport roller 18, and the welding cut control means 208 drives the heat cutter opening / closing motor HCM. I have. Further, the film remaining amount detecting means 211 includes a sensor S
When the output level of No. 2 is L4, a low detection signal is output.

Further, in the automatic sealing machine according to the present invention, an initialization button 301 is provided on the operation section, and an initialization command signal when this initialization button is pressed is similarly transmitted via the interface circuit 100. Provided to the CPU. Further, a display unit 302 is connected to the interface circuit 100. The CPU, based on the low detection signal from the low film detection means 211, displays
Is displayed on the screen and the operator is notified of the running out of film. Further, the CPU causes the display unit 302 to display that a jam has occurred based on a jam detection signal from the jam detecting means 210.

Subsequently, when a film having the above configuration is newly loaded or when a recovery is performed after the jam is cleared, an initialization button 301 is set.
The operation when is pressed will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is a time chart showing the operation of the automatic sealing machine when the initialization button 301 is pressed.

The initialization button 301 is pressed when a new film is loaded after the consumption of the film 13 or when the recovery is performed after the jam is released. Before that, the initialization button 301 is pressed as described above. 14b, 1
4c, one of the destination windows 13 as shown in FIGS.
1, the registration mark 132, and the end mark 133 (FIG. 1)
1) and a roll film 13b having the entire surface printed impermeable to the other side so as to cover the fixed roller 17a on the downstream opening surface of the cartridge 13. In this state, as shown in FIG. 8, the cartridge 14 is mounted on the mounter 16 of the film supply section B4 of the automatic sealing machine.
As shown in FIG. 9 (a), it is held in a meandering manner between the fixed roller 17a and the movable roller 17c.

The initialization button 301 is pressed after the preparation state is completed. Then, when the initialization button 301 is pressed, the clamper 9a, the transport roller 18, the heat cutter 19, and the heat roller 20 are kept open. Further, the heat cutter control unit 208 supplies power to the heater of the cutting blade 19a of the heat cutter to perform preheating and prepare for heat cutting.

On the other hand, the CPU starts execution of the initialization program, and first, rotates the motor TRM of the tray control means 204 to move the tray 6 at the retracted position shown by the solid line in FIG. The roll films 13a and 13b in the superimposed state of the cartridge are fed out by being advanced to the advance position indicated by the chain line in ()). At this time, the movable roller 17c of the tension mechanism is moved in the downstream direction as shown in FIG. The superposed roll films 13a and 13b are folded in two by the tray to be further superimposed (total of four films), and the front end of the film is placed between the transport rollers 18 with the nip open. Position.

Then, based on the completion of the advance of the tray, the transport control means 205 closes the nip of the transport roller. As a result, the leading end of the roll film fed out from the tray is clamped between the transport rollers. At the front end of the tray, a portion corresponding to each transport roller is notched, so that when the nip of the transport roller is closed, only the film is transported by the transport roller 1.
8 pinched. The tray 6 is retracted to the initial position at the same time as the film is clamped.

After the nip closing operation of the transport roller, the transport control means 205 starts rotating the transport motor MM, so that the roll films 13a, 1 held by the transport roller are rotated.
As shown in FIG. 9B, 3b is transported downstream by the transport rollers.

The film sensor S2 detects the leading edge of the film from the output level of the light receiving element PHr.
The overlapped portion passes through the nip portion of the transport roller 18, and the upper roll film 13a and the lower roll film 13
b, when the registration mark 132 arrives at the film sensor S2 and is detected after the two sheets are overlapped, the conveying roller 1
The rotation of the transport motor MM is stopped with the nip 8 closed. Subsequently, the heat cutter control unit 208 moves the cutting blade 19a and the pedestal 19b of the heat cutter closer to each other, and welds and cuts the stopped two roll films 13a and 13b at the registration mark.

By this welding and cutting, the two roll film cartridges are separated into a portion downstream of the registration mark 132 and a portion upstream of the registration mark, including the superposed portion. Then, the separated portion on the downstream side is discharged onto the discharge tray 22 by the discharge roller 21 by the subsequent rotation of the transport motor MM.

[0048] In the portion upstream of the registration mark 132, a welding portion 13c (see FIG. 3) is formed at the cut portion by joining the leading ends of two roll films. Then, after the end of the heat cut, the transport control means 205
When the nip of the transport roller 18 is opened, the joint 13c is retracted to a position corresponding to the center of the opening 14a of the cartridge 14 by receiving back tension from the movable roller 17c of the tension mechanism of the film supply unit. . In this state, the initialization of the automatic sealing machine is completed, and the necessary operation can be performed in response to the discharge of the document from the upstream apparatus A.

Next, the operation of the automatic sealing machine after the initialization is completed, which is not directly related to the subject of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
FIG. 15 is a timing chart illustrating the operation of the loading unit when a document discharge signal is input from the upstream device, FIG. 15 is a time chart illustrating the operation when the binding mode is specified,
FIG. 16 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the sealing section when the sealing mode is designated. 17 shows an initial state of the automatic sealing machine, FIG. 18 shows a film feeding step, FIG. 19 shows a film and document clamping step, FIG. 20 shows a tray retreating and film and document conveying step, and FIG. 21 shows a heat cutting step. FIG. 22 is a sectional view showing a sealed part obtained by automatic sealing.

In the initial state, as shown in FIG. 17, the tray 6 is at the retracted position, and the transport roller 18, the blade 19a and the pedestal 19b constituting the heat cutter 19, and the heat roller 20 are all open. Further, since the apparatus is normally in the sealing mode, the retreat control means 207 holds the cartridge 14 at the sealing position. When the document P is started based on the document discharge signal, first, the document P is taken in from the upstream device A, alignment of the taken document is performed, and the heat cutter 19 and the heat roller 20 are warmed up.

In the document take-in process, the take-in control means 201 and the alignment control means 202 operate to rotate the take-in motor ICM to gate the document discharged from the upstream device as shown in FIG. 3 is taken in the direction of the matching portion B3. When the sensor S1 detects the leading end of the document, the solenoid FLSOL is excited for a predetermined time to rotate the gate 3 downward, so that the document flies on the tray 6 while forming a corrugate, and is stacked.

A predetermined time after the sensor S1 detects the leading end of the document, the aligning motor ALM is rotated to prepare for alignment, and after the sensor S1 detects the trailing end of the document, the aligning roller 7 is moved to the upper surface of the tray. Down in the direction
The documents stacked on the tray are fed obliquely and aligned.
The clamper 9a is lowered before the alignment roller returns to the upper position, and the aligned document is pressed onto the tray. This document acquisition / alignment is performed each time each document is discharged until a predetermined number of documents have been discharged from the upstream apparatus A.

When the matching of a predetermined number of documents is completed,
After being pressed by the clamper 9a as shown in FIG. 15, the stapler control means 203 operates. Stapler control means 20
No. 3 performs binding only at the front part, only at the rear part, or both sides of one side of the document in accordance with the binding designation position for the document. To explain an example, when binding the front portion, the stapler 11 is moved slightly backward by the motor STM and stopped, and the stapler 11 is driven to bind. In the case where the rear portion is also bound, the tray control means 204 is also operated, and the motor T
When the rotation of the RM is started, the tray 6 is advanced, and when the relative position of the stapler 11 and the tray 6 reaches a predetermined position, both are stopped, the stapler 11 is driven, and the rear stapling is performed. After completion of the predetermined binding, the motor STM is reversed to return the stapler to the front position, which is the home position.

When the predetermined binding is completed, the tray control means 204 rotates the tray motor TRM forward to move the tray 6 forward as shown in FIG. . Tray 6 holds the document P on it
As shown in FIG. 18, the document is advanced while the gate 8 is tilted, and the document is conveyed to the downstream film supply section B4, while the document is held in an aligned state by the clamper.

The front end of the tray 6 has a cartridge 14
To the center of the opening 14a of the film 13 so that the joint between the front side film 13a and the back side film 13b of the film 13 coincides with the center of the opening, and is lightly slapped by the tension mechanism 17 to stand by in tension. The film 13 is pushed in the downstream direction, and as shown in FIG.
3, the film and the front and back sides of the document are covered with the film, and the film and the front of the document are transported to a position between the transport rollers 18 in a separated state, and stopped at the forward position.

In this state, the film supply control means 206
Operates to close the transport roller 18 opened through the nip drive means TAM as shown in FIG. 19, to clamp the film and the document, and at the same time to open the clamper 9, and then the tray control means 204 The tray 6 is returned to an intermediate position where the gate 8 does not stand. Thereafter, the transport control unit 205 rotates the transport motor MM almost simultaneously with the start of the retreat of the tray, rotates the transport roller 18, and transports the film and the document. Subsequently, the heat roller control means 209, which has been warmed up previously, closes the pressing roller 20a and the heating roller 20b of the heat roller 20, and continuously heat-seales both sides of the conveyed film.

When the trailing end of the conveyed document P passes through the gate 8, the tray 6 is completely returned to the retracted position as shown in FIG. At that time, the gate 8 returns by the action of a return spring (not shown) and returns to the upright state. Thus, the next document P can be taken into the tray 6.

The sensor S2 detects the light transmittance of one side of the film 13 conveyed downstream by the conveying roller 18 and gives its output voltage to the control unit 200 via the interface 100. The unit monitors the presence / absence of a film, the presence / absence of a registration mark 132, and the presence / absence of remaining film.

Returning to FIG. 16, based on the detection of the film registration mark 132 by the sensor S2, first, the conveyance control means 205 stops the rotation of the conveyance motor MM, and the heat roller control means 209 stops. In order to prevent overheating shrinkage due to continued contact of the film with the heat roller, the heat roller 20 is opened,
As shown in FIG. 21, the heat cut control unit 208
The cutting blade 19a and the pedestal 19b of the heat cutter 19 are closed, and the film 13 is heat-cut at the registration mark 132.

After the heat cut, the film supply control means 206 opens the transport roller 18 which has been closed so far via the nip drive means TAM, then rotates the transport motor MM again and closes the heat roller 20 again. At the time of heat cutting, unsealed portions on both sides of the film between the heat cutter and the heat roller are sealed.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 22, both sides are heat-sealed (13
3) The front and rear portions are heat-cut (134) at the portion of the registration mark 132 to obtain a sealed object SM in which the document P is sealed in a film bag having an address window 131 on the surface. The sealed object SM is discharged to the lower discharge tray 22 by the discharge roller 21 of the lower discharge part B6.

As shown in FIG. 21, the front end portion of the front side film 13a and the back side film 13b of the heat-cut film 13 upstream of the heat cutter 19 are welded by the heat cutter 19. Since the back tension is applied by the tension applying mechanism 17 provided in the film supply unit, the film returns to the original position.

When the mode is switched to the non-sealing mode by a mote changeover switch (not shown) provided in the operation section of the sealing machine B, the retreat control means 207 gives a forward drive signal to the motor FCM and sends it to the motor FCM. The cartridge 14 is rotated to lower the cartridge 14 via the mounter 16 to a retracted position indicated by a chain line in FIG.

Accordingly, a group of documents that have been fetched and aligned by the fetching unit B1 into the matching unit B3 are stored in the stapler 11
Is transported between the transport rollers 18 by the advance of the tray 6, and the transport rollers are closed and rotated at the same time, and the document passes between the heat cutter 19 and the heat roller 20 in the separated state. The paper 21 is discharged onto a discharge tray 22 by 21. When the non-sealing mode is designated, the heating roller of the heat roller is not heated.

The cartridge 14, the transport roller 18, the heat cutter 19 and the heat roller 20 are unitized in a drawer 31, as shown in FIG. The discharge roller 21 may be similarly attached to the drawer 31.

A guide roller 32 is provided on the front and the bottom of the drawer 31.
Is fitted to a guide rail 33 provided on the housing 1 side so as to extend in the vertical direction in FIG. A handle 34 is provided on the near side of the drawer 31. When the handle 34 is pulled, the guide roller 31 rolls in the guide rail 33, and the drawer 31 is pulled out to the near side. .

Then, the cartridge 14 is removed from the cartridge holding member 23 in a state where the drawer 31 is pulled out to the front side, and a new film is supplied to the cartridge 14 or the film jammed between the transport roller 18 and the discharge roller 21. And documents can be eliminated.

Instead of the handle 34, the drawer 31
Alternatively, a pinion (not shown) fixed to a rotating shaft of a drawer motor DRM (shown only in FIG. 8) using a reversible motor provided in the housing 1 and a rack (not shown) provided in the drawer 31 and meshing with the pinion The drawer 31 may be drawn out by providing a drawer moving means comprising the drawer 31 and rotating the drawer motor in a predetermined direction.

By the way, the drawer 31 may be pulled out for replenishment when the film is consumed, or may be drawn out for jam release when a jam occurs. Regarding the film consumption, when the output level L4 of the sensor S2 reaches the level L4 in FIG.
11 determines that the film is low, and based on this, the display 30
0 is set to display the remaining film amount.

As for the occurrence of a jam, the jam detecting means 211 determines that a jam has occurred and outputs the jam when the following conditions are met. That is, in FIG. 16, a predetermined time t1 from the start of rotation of the transport motor MM after the forward movement of the tray 6 on which documents are loaded, that is, as shown in FIG. If the sensor S2 does not detect the leading edge of the film even after the time required for the leading edge of the film to reach the sensor S2 elapses, it is determined that the film has jammed. Further, the jam detecting means 211 also detects a predetermined time t2 from the start of rotation of the transport motor MM, that is, even if the time required for the registration mark of the film transported by the transport roller to reach the sensor S2 has elapsed. If S2 does not detect the registration mark 132, it is determined that the film has jammed. Further, a predetermined time t3 from the time when the nip of the transport roller is opened after the heat cut by the heat cutter 19 is completed,
That is, even if the time required for the upstream film held by the transport roller during the heat cut to return to the upstream direction by the back tension from the tension mechanism due to the opening of the nip of the transport roller elapses, the sensor S
If 2 still detects the film, it determines that the film has jammed. In any of the above cases, when the occurrence of a jam is detected, the fact is displayed on the display unit 302.

Therefore, when the display of the remaining amount of the film is displayed, the operator manually stops the operation of the automatic sealing machine before reaching the number of sealed objects that can be produced from the time of the display to the end of the film, and closes the door of the main body. When the drawer 31 is opened, the drawer 31 is pulled out, the cartridge 14 is removed from the mounter 16, and the remaining film of the cartridge 14 is taken out. Instead, a new roll film as shown in FIG. 3 is housed in the film housing portions 14b and 14c. Then, the above-described film is initialized, and when a jam is displayed, the operation of the automatic sealing machine is immediately stopped by the control of the CPU,
After clearing the jam manually, the automatic sealing machine can be easily restored by initializing the film according to the state of the film.

At both lower corners of the housing 1, storage portions 37 and 38 for storing the spare cartridge 14S are provided, and the film 13 of the cartridge 14 loaded on the cartridge holding member 23 is used up. In this case, the cartridge 14S stored in the storage portions 37 and 38
Is taken out from the opening on the front side and loaded on the cartridge holding member 23, and the empty storage portions 37 and 38 are refilled with a new spare cartridge 14S.

Further, regulating members 39 and 40 are provided at the bottoms of the accommodating portions 37 and 38 for regulating the posture and the orientation of the cartridge 14S when the cartridge 14S is attached to the cartridge holding member 23 in the same manner. Yes, accommodation unit 3
The orientation of the cartridge 14S taken out of the storage portions 37 and 38 is regulated so that the cartridge 14S taken out of the storage portions 37 and 38 is loaded on the cartridge holding member 23 in the same orientation. The storage section 41 can store a spare roll film 13S for replenishing the empty cartridge 14 or 14S. The spare roll film may be stored in the storage units 37 and 38.

[0074]

As described above, according to the present invention, at the time of loading a new film or recovering from a jam release, the rewinding leading end portion of the biaxial roll film is extended by a necessary amount and stacked on the cartridge. Simply attach the cartridge to the film supply unit with it aligned, and press the initialization button to join the leading ends of the roll film at the appropriate position and the joint corresponds to the center of the cartridge opening Then, the initialization is automatically performed to position the leading end of the film at a position where the leading end of the sealing film coincides with the leading end of the document to be sealed. Therefore, not only the complicated manual operation of trimming and aligning the direction of the rewinding end of the roll film is not required, but also the effect of promptly performing job recovery at the time of film replenishment or occurrence of a jam can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of an automatic sealing machine using the method of the present invention, focusing on a drive system.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a specific configuration of the sealing machine.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a form during use of the sealing film.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a form of a biaxial roll film before being loaded into a cartridge.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining loading of a cartridge and a biaxial roll film with respect to the cartridge.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a relationship among a cartridge, a mounter, and a cartridge holding member that constitute a film supply unit.

FIG. 7 is an exploded side view for explaining the attachment / detachment relationship between the cartridge, the roll film, and the mounter.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state where the cartridge is mounted on a mounter.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the initialization process separately for the first half and the second half.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a control system of the automatic sealing machine.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a sealing film and a detection unit.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a detection principle.

FIG. 13 is a time chart for explaining an operation at the time of film initialization.

FIG. 14 is a time chart for explaining an operation in a document capturing process.

FIG. 15 is a time chart for explaining an operation in a binding process by a stapler;

FIG. 16 is a time chart for explaining an operation in a sealing process by a sealing unit.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of a main part showing an initial state of the automatic sealing machine at the time of operation.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing the same film feeding step.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing a film and document clamping process.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view showing a tray retreating process and a film and document conveying process.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view showing a heat cutting step.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a completed sealed item.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A upstream device B sealing machine B1 intake unit B3 matching unit B4 film supply unit B5 sealing unit 6 tray 10 tray moving means 13 sealing film 13a, 13b roll film 14 cartridge 14b, 14c film storage unit MM transport motor 18 transport roller 19 heat cutter (welding cutting means) 20 heat roller (welding means) S2 film sensor

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An alignment section for stacking and aligning documents discharged from an upstream device on a tray and moving the tray to the downstream side to transfer the document and a rewinding end of a biaxial roll film are joined. A film supply unit for feeding the film by moving the tray in the downstream direction, and feeding the film with the film. A conveying roller for conveying while covering the front and back surfaces, welding means for welding edges extending to both sides of the conveyed film in the width direction of the document, a film coated with the document immediately after the rear end of the document. Welding and cutting means for welding and cutting, and a sealing unit formed by the welding and cutting and comprising a discharge roller for discharging a sealed object in which a document is sealed in a film bag out of the machine; In an automatic sealing machine having a control unit for controlling a sealing unit, (A) the film supply unit includes a film cartridge for loading the biaxial roll film, and the film cartridge detachably attached to the automatic sealing machine body. The film cartridge has an opening for moving the tray in the center, a roll film storage section on both sides of the opening, and a downstream direction from the opening to both roll film storage sections. A plurality of guide fixing rollers are provided at positions where the opening is not closed on the open surface to be opened, and the mounter is upstream and downstream between the fixing rollers of the film cartridge held by the mounter. Multiple movable rollers supported movably in the direction, and a bias that constantly biases each movable roller in the upstream direction (B) in each roll film accommodating portion of the film cartridge, one roll film accommodates a biaxial roll film provided with a cutting position detection mark, and the biaxial roll film The film cartridge is mounted on the mounter in a state where the rewinding ends are extended in the direction of the other roll film accommodating portion and overlapped on the downstream surface of the fixed roller, and based on the input of the initialization command, By moving the tray of the aligning section to the downstream side in an empty state, the movable roller overcomes the urging force of the urging means and moves downstream, and the two-axis roll in the superimposed state is moved. The film is fed out to a position between the transport rollers in the nip open state of the sealing section, the nip of the transport roller is closed, and the transport roller is rotated to rotate the nip. The fed film is transported until a cutting position detection mark provided on the film is detected by a sensor provided between the transport roller and the welding and cutting means, and based on the detection of the cutting position detection mark, The rotation of the transport roller is stopped, and the welding and cutting means welds and cuts the biaxial roll film behind the overlapped portion.The nip of the transport roller is opened, and the return force of the movable roller causes A method for initializing a sealing film in an automatic sealing machine, comprising: retreating a joining portion of a film by welding cutting means to a position near an opening of the film cartridge.